Can I Say I’m a Son or Daughter of Christ and Suffer from Depression?

Can we still call ourselves sons or daughters of Christ?

Beliefnet

Can I Say I’m a Son or Daughter of Christ and Suffer From Depression?

In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, we read: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” What if we aren’t glad, we aren’t capable of rejoicing, and even prayer is difficult? What if, instead, everything looks dark, we question God’s compassion, and we want to hide in shame? In other words, what if we are clinically depressed? Can we still call ourselves sons or daughters of Christ?

Suffers With Us

Christ knows depression and is with us in pain. He made us and knows every piece of hair on our head, as well as every thought in our mind. “The Lord searched all hearts and He understands all the imaginations of the mind. (1 Chronicles 28:9). He looks with compassion on our negative intrusive thoughts, our ruminations, our self-defeating language, even our self-hatred.

Gives Us Peace

God knows about anxiousness. Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” The peace is beyond our comprehension. It doesn’t have to make sense. There is no rigid calculation of who is deserving of peace and why.

Security in Christ

Our self-worth is never tied to your situation, it’s rooted in Christ. When we question our self-worth, when we wonder why God created us in the first place, and we curse Him for our pain, Christ is there with His cross, taking all of our suffering and sending forth light and compassion and love. He offers us unconditional peace, not only when we believe in His strength, but also in times of doubt, when we question His presence in our lives. “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:7).

Hope for the Weary

I was wrapped in fear and had given up on God the morning of my psychiatric evaluation at Johns Hopkins Mood Disorders Clinic. I was working as hard as is humanly possible to feel good again. I had already been through seven different psychiatrists, had tried 23 different medicine combinations, and had experimented with every kind of alternative treatment. However, I still wanted so badly to die. I was running dangerously low on hope. On the way to my appointment, my husband and I passed through the billings and administrative building. There, in the lobby, was a 10-and-a-half foot marble statue of Jesus. The passage inscribed on the pedestal read: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”

He Is With Us Always

I wept at those words. I knew that God had not abandoned me, just as he did not abandon Christ on the cross. I knew then, as I know now, that Christ is with all of us who suffer from this invisible disease. He knows that when we beg to be dead, it is a woeful cry of help from despair, and that we need, once again, to be filled with hope and love and compassion. He takes our hurts to the cross. Matthew 19:26 says, “Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’” He is there--within the mess of things—holding a flame of hope. We need not figure out why he allows our pain. We need not have to spend a certain percentage of our day in prayer to be relieved of the suffering. He is simply there, offering light in darkness and love in moments of despair. “Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).